Caretaker: Not unusual for teen who was killed to disappear

Caretaker: Not unusual for teen who was killed to disappear

Mar. 04, 2018

LANCASTER, S.C. (AP) — The caretaker of the 18-year-old whose dismembered body was found in South Carolina says the young man would often disappear for weeks at a time.

Peggy Rape tells The State newspaper in Columbia that Austin Steele sometimes took trips to the beach. He hadn't been seen for several weeks before his dismembered and burned body was found Thursday in Lancaster County.

Rape says Steele had moved in with 30-year-old Christopher Allen Holford and Holford's wife two months ago.

Holford is charged with murder in Steele's death. His wife, 19-year-old Brandy Nicole Duncan, is charged with accessory after the fact. Authorities say she helped dismember the body.

Police say Holford also is charged with failing to register as a sex offender.